This painting came from Oradea, Romania, and is believed to have been done around 1910. Unfortunately, it had been in a flood, which left it with substantial problems. The water damage created widespread craquelures and rippled the canvas across the entire surface. Lodged in the back of the canvas was a bevy of dust, wood bits, broken glass and dead insects. Restoration will take some time, but with a painting in this condition, once complete it’ll be like seeing it for the first time. If you look closely at the window, there is a structure of a building and we’re hoping to possibly be able to identify it.

Oradea’s King Ferdinand Square is dominated by the State Theater that was designed in 1900 by Austrian architects, Fellner and Hellmer, who also designed the Vienna Opera House. Eight miles from the Hungarian border, Oradea has been inhabited since 300 BC. It’s current population is around 204,000. The pesky Crisu Repede River runs through it. Flood-banks have been able to tame the river, but in 1836 a large part of the town was destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt in the 18th century through the plans of Viennese engineer Franz Anton Hillebrandt following the then-trendy Austrian architectural style called Secession with its richly decorated facades of pale pink, blue, green and white. In addition to the many Baroque buildings, Oradea is known for its rich collection of Art Nouveau architecture. It is the 10th largest city in Romania.

Oredea, Romania.